“The Armenian defense ministry shares the pain of the heavy loss and expresses its condolences to family members, relatives and colleagues of the servicemen who died while protecting the borders of the Republic of Armenia,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

An investigation has been launched into the details of the attack. The defense ministry added that appropriate steps have been taken to bring the situation under control.

The defense ministry immediately informed the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-on-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk, who was invited to the ministry.

“This provocation at the line of contact is a logical continuation of the activities of the Azerbaijani armed forces over the past days,” said the defense ministry statement. “It is yet another proof of the fact that the authorities of the neighboring country ignore any initiative aimed at resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, since they do not want to resolve the conflict in a peaceful way and periodically resort to such provocations, artificially destabilizing the situation at the line of contact and undermining the negotiation process. Thus, the Azerbaijani authorities are demonstrating their disrespect for the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group, the efforts of the leaders of the co-chairing countries and the international community.”

This incident comes a day after OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter visited the region, holding meetings with leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Burkhalte brought a clear message to the sides of the conflict, urging cooperation in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“The status quo is not an option in the current situation, and we must try to move step by step to a peaceful settlement,” Burkhalter declared at a joint press conference with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian in Yerevan on Wednesday.